Fighter A and B decide to meet at pounds. Fighter A makes weight. They worked hard for weeks watching what they ate. Sweated out for a day or days to make the weight. They pushed their body to the limit and made themselves ill in the process.
Fighter B gives up a few pounds. Perhaps they decided to give up some money and not go through that last bit of agony to kill themselves to make weight. They might be able to balloon back up bigger and better than fighter A. That could be an advantage. The last example is happening now. Paulo Costa is fighting Marvin Vettori this coming Saturday.
Costa knew he was coming in heavy. He fessed up and asked for a catchweight. This is both saving him the agony of cutting too much and the loss of money by giving up a percentage of his purse. The UFC granted a catchweight of pounds, which has since been bumped up to pounds.
Now could every fighter start asking for this treatment? Thanks for visiting MMANews. Unfortunately, a few fights later, he again had weight issues. On the day of weigh-ins, Gastelum did not even show up to the weigh-ins, automatically withdrawing the fight from the card.
At the start of his career, Johnson was a Welterweight , which is surprising to say considering that he wants to make a return at Heavyweight !
Anyways, he had a couple of fights early in his career where he missed weight. They were pretty bad, both by about 6 pounds, but the UFC allowed him to remain at welterweight. Of his own accord, Johnson decided to move up to Middleweight. So it came as a surprise to everyone that for his first weigh-in at Middleweight, Johnson weighed in at pounds, 11 pounds over the limit.
Johnson was subsequently cut from the promotion, after losing the fight. So what makes the difference between a fighter that gets cut from the UFC and a fighter that is forced to move up? Well, it depends on how Dana White feels about you. In the case of Kelvin Gastelum, Gastelum had won The Ultimate Fighter series at Middleweight, and had shown potential as a future contender.
Because of his potential and his status as a rising prospect, the UFC decided to give him a chance to stay at Middleweight despite missing weight three times.
Anthony Johnson, on the other hand, was simply not seen as valuable as someone like Gastelum was. It simply depends on how valuable the fighter is to the UFC.
If they are more valuable, then forcing a fighter to move up in weight may be all that is necessary to keep them. If the fighter is less valuable, then their unreliability in making weight is enough to get them cut from the UFC.
To make matters more difficult, they also partake in training that would cause their body to sweat and consequently lose more weight. This could be running on a treadmill or cycling in a sauna. As far as losing weight to drop in weight class is concerned, it is even more straining. Usually, their diet would mostly consist of protein and fat with a very little salt and no fruits or sugar. Naturally, the process of cutting weight comes with its risks, which can only be minimized if you are cutting weight sustainably with professional help.
Here is the article that explains a weight loss process step by step. It is physically possible for a fighter to lose up to 30 pounds in 48 hours before the fight. While some fighters cut a few pounds of weight to fight in divisions close to their actual weight, others drop weight drastically to have a size advantage over their opponents.
Using your weight as a tactic to get the upper hand is very common in a sport like boxing. While some boxers would lose 30 pounds before a weigh-in and gain it back by the time the fight day comes, others would just gain extra weight on the fight day.
An example would be Tyson Fury drinking gallons of water before weighing in to gain a psychological advantage over Deontay Wilder in their recent bout. Although there is no set amount of weight a boxer has to lose for a weigh-in, a boxer weighing pounds at the weigh-in may weigh pounds on the fight day. Gaining weight before a fight is much easier when compared to losing weight.
After losing a considerable amount of weight before a weigh-in, fighters undertake an intense rehydration and food intake program one day before the fight. Not only does this involve massive intakes of water, but it also includes intake of top-notch sports drinks.
Simultaneously their diet to gain weight is one with high carbohydrates to make sure their energy is restored for the fight. Although not as risky as losing weight, the process of gaining weight can also cause fighters to fall ill after drinking huge sips of water constantly.
This is why it is advised to drink the same amount of water, but with smaller sips, so your body accommodates the large intake. Their weight only needs to be in the weight division they are fighting in. For instance, in boxing, the upper limit for welterweight is pounds, which means any fighter in that division cannot exceed pounds.
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